Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Straggler: Patty's punch list

  1. "Friends" who constantly brag about what they have. Debby…I don't care about your stupid vacations, your multiple trips to the Coach store, or your in-ground swimming pool. We live in Northern Illinois…it only gets hot enough to swim maybe one week out of the year!
  2. Parents who ask me everyday how their kid is doing in class. Really, I have had your daughter in my class for two years and she still can't tell me how many is five! You still think everything is ok?
  3. The school board that thinks it is important to pay the janitor $1,000 every month to wax the floor, but they can't find the money to give teachers a cost-of-living increase.
  4. Teacher Appreciation Week! The below-par teacher in the classroom next to yours is bragging about the $100 mall gift card she received from her students while you end up with a stupid apple-themed mug that still has the price sticker on it. Yep…it's from Dollar Tree.
  5. Stupid administrators who have no concept of how a school should be running. Get the hell out of the office once in a while and you won't be so shocked about how low the morale is amongst the staff!
  6. Busybody receptionist who just can't wait to run and tell everything to the administrator and then pretend to be your friend. Screw you…we all know you are the "spy".
  7. Women who get pregnant and think it's ok if they don't have health insurance because the state will pay for everything. Yeah, well I would have loved to have had another child, but being middle class, we don't qualify for free health insurance.
  8. People that think you are pissed off just because you don't want to talk to them at 8:00 in the morning. I have been up since 6:00 am. I have just spent an hour trapped in my car with a sullen teenager driving through a blizzard. No, I don't want to talk to you about what we are going to do all day.
  9. People who think that teachers only work nine months of the year and get paid for doing nothing over the summer. No asshole, the money that I get during the summer is money that I already earned.
  10. Stupid assistants. I don't have time to teach you…I am too busy with teaching 24 children!

11 comments:

Amanda said...

wow. if it's that bad why don't you slit your wrists and call it a day.

I certainly don't want a someone with that attitude teaching my child.

Anonymous said...

Love this one! Especially #8, which perfectly reflects my own feelings (i.e., DO NOT come charging into my office to "chat" the instant I step inside and turn on the lights. Gaaahh!).

#1, also a gem, reminds me of the dear old story: Three women are talking. The first one says "My husband just bought me a new Mercedes with leather seats and an interior by Prada!" The second one wants all the details, and the third one smiles and says "How nice!" Then the second woman says "Well MY husband just bought ME this huge ten-carat diamond ring set in platinum!" and the second woman admires it enviously and the third woman says "How nice!" So then the first two women turn to the third and ask, a bit patronizingly, "And what has your husband done for YOU lately?" and the third woman says, "He sent me to charm school." "Charm school?" echo the other two. "What earthly use could that be?" "Well," says woman #3, "For starters, I learned to say 'How nice!' instead of 'Oh who gives a fuck about that shit?'"

Glass Houses said...

Regarding #7: What's frustrating is that the free health insurance is all or nothing. If you have a good job, decent health insurance (the best available through your employer in your price range, anyway), but you happen to need a little help because the man who gave you this baby has decided to leave, no dice. Doesn't matter that you work hard to pay into the system.

Meanwhile, the mother with no job not only gets the free health insurance, but also WIC, foodstamps, and various other benefits and consequently gets to stay home and actually raise her child, instead of leaving the baby with a sitter for the better part of every day to go to work.

I'd probably be better off if I quit my job and lived off the state. But I have too much pride for that.

(Me, bitter? Whatever gave you that impression?)

Lindsey said...

PREACH IT! I taught for 8 years and everything you say is spot on. The first commenter who said she wouldn't want someone with such an attitude to teach her kid had better get her kid out of public school. That's how we all feel, lady! You try this job for a while and see if you don't get a little snarky and bitter at times!

Amanda said...

my children are not in public schooling.

and parents can tell the snarky, bitter crappy teachers from the happy effective ones. and yes, it's obvious that the majority of teachers feel that way. and then they wonder why voters don't pass levys to increase their pay...because we already know you suck at teaching and hate the kids.

nobody goes to a dentist who is constantly complaining about his job. ie, they don't seek his services and he doesn't get paid. customer service is important in every sector, some teachers however seem to think they're exempt.

Cami said...

Not only do teachers get paid to do nothing all summer, they also get paid during the school year for giving lap dances, posting lewd Facebook photos accessible by anybody and having sex with their teenage students. Yeah, let's give them all a raise.....

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

There are some poor teachers out there but none of what this woman complained about makes her one of them. You want to know why teachers seem pissed off or bitter? It's because people like you take the actions of a few bad apples and use it as a measure to judge the whole bunch. If you devalue what these people do, why do you expect them to be happy to do it? I am an aspiring teacher (in school for education) and right now I'm full of optimism. However, I completely understand this woman's complaints and I think it is ridiculous of you to attack her. None of her comments mention hating kids. Disrespectful parents, sure. Bad administrators, sure. But does any one complaint mention the kids, no. So stop calling her a bad teacher and give her some respect. Everyone has parts of their job they hate and they have a right to complain, especially in a forum that is entirely about complaining.

Camille said...

I get snarky even as a parent! I can't imagine teaching 24 kids, I'd go insane. But, really now, maybe you need a sabbatical or even a career change because you sound really upset about being a teacher. God bless you for doing your job, I know I could never do that.

gabagool said...

No wonder kids are getting stupider all the time.

Anonymous said...

24 students? I have 37. Snarky doesn't even scratch the surface.